At one point during the second quarter at Scott Stadium, it appeared as though Princeton was losing. With a 3-0 lead, Notre Dame resembled the squad that had won two of the previous three national championships. The Fighting Irish exuded the kind of composure that comes from winning, just like champions typically do. For a short while on the afternoon of Memorial Day, it seemed as though the script had already been written.
After that, Princeton scored eleven consecutive goals. Eleven. in a championship match.
It’s the kind of run that doesn’t typically occur in a national championship game, especially against a defense that had allowed just 8.6 goals per game the entire season. However, it did happen, and by the time it was all over, the Tigers had won 16-9 and their first NCAA title since 2001, ending a drought that had affected a whole generation of Princeton lacrosse players who had grown up hearing about the dynasty their fathers and older brothers had witnessed.
Ryan Croddick, the Princeton goalkeeper from Rumson-Fair Haven on the Jersey Shore, is the player that most people will remember, even though Chad Palumbo finished with four goals and an assist. Thirteen saves, a 59% save percentage against a wave-scoring offense. A goalie deciding a championship game has an almost archaic quality, and Croddick played as though he recognized that. It’s the kind of performance that calms a crowd before it uplifts them—calm in the cage, no unnecessary movement.
For its part, Notre Dame appeared shocked. Over the past few years, head coach Kevin Corrigan had transformed the Irish into something akin to the lacrosse equivalent of a blue-blood program, and you could see it in his body language. After winning back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, there is now a chance to win three in four. On Monday, they might have been negatively impacted by the weight of that expectation. Looking back, it seems like Princeton played more loosely. Notre Dame played as if they were a team attempting to defend something.
The stage in Charlottesville was appropriate. Warm Virginia air, Scott Stadium, and the Memorial Day crowd that consistently turns out for this final, regardless of whether the schools are established or new. Cameras lingered as Josh Yago, the attackman from Notre Dame who transferred from the Air Force and is currently a second lieutenant in the Space Force, stood at attention for the anthem. In the semifinal, he had scored seven points. In the final, he was unable to use the same magic.
It’s more difficult to explain why college lacrosse moments like this continue to feel underappreciated in the larger sports discourse. The day before, the Northwestern women defeated North Carolina in another rematch of the previous year’s final to win their ninth championship. Outside of pockets in Maryland, Long Island, and the lacrosse-heavy corridors of New Jersey and upstate New York, the sport continues to struggle to gain traction despite two championship games and two gripping tales. Though it’s slow, there are indications that things are changing, especially with growth in states like Texas and California.
It’s unclear if the Tigers’ victory over Princeton marks the beginning of something new or just puts an end to a protracted wait. A few players are removed from the roster. In certain aspects, recruiting into the Ivy League is more difficult than it used to be, but in other aspects, it is simpler. But that didn’t matter for an afternoon when the program won its seventh title. Finally, the Tigers were champions once more, and Notre Dame’s dynasty talk was put on hold.
The speed at which things can change in just one quarter is difficult to ignore.
